UNDATED (AP) — Joel Embiid had 40 points and 19 rebounds and hit a tying 3-pointer late in regulation, and Tobias Harris scored 11 of his 22 points in overtime to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Utah Jazz 131-123 in a matchup of the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conference leaders.
Ben Simmons added 17 points for the 76ers, who improved their Eastern Conference-leading record to 24-12.
Donovan Mitchell had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Jazz, who lost their second straight. Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points apiece for Utah.
Mitchell was ejected with 30.8 seconds left in overtime after picking up his second technical. He got his first with 57.5 seconds remaining in the extra period after arguing a foul call.
The game included four players who will be participating in Sunday’s All-Star game in Embiid, Simmons, Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
— Buddy Hield shook off a sore ankle to score 29 points and the Kings beat the short-handed Lakers 123-120 Wednesday night. Hield’s status for the game was in doubt because of a sprained right ankle but he decided to play through it and helped the Kings win for just the second time in the past 12 games. They took advantage of a banged-up Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Sacramento held on at the end to win this one with Harrison Barnes’ layup giving the Kings a 121-120 lead with 30.1 seconds remaining after De’Aaron Fox had just fouled out.
— James Harden had a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in the first meeting with his former Houston teammates and the Brooklyn Nets won 132-114 to hand the Rockets their 13th straight loss. Many of the 3,615 fans booed when Harden was introduced before the game and more boos came the first few times he touched the ball. The Nets set a franchise record with their seventh straight road victory and have won 10 of their last 11 overall. It’s the longest skid for the Rockets since they dropped 15 in a row in 2001.
— Damian Lillard hit a deep 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left to give the Portland Trail Blazers a hard-fought 108-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Lillard and Carmelo Anthony each had 22 points for the Blazers, who kept it close most of the way after the Warriors jumped out to an early lead. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 35 points. His 3-pointer gave Golden State a 101-96 lead with 3:57 remaining.
— Wayne Ellington scored 25 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the virus-depleted Toronto Raptors 129-105 to snap a three-game losing streak. Ellington was 8 of 11 from 3-point range and the Pistons were 20 for 41 overall from long range. Detroit’s backup had 56 points, with Rodney McGruder and Saben Lee each finishing with 20. Norman Powell had 36 points for Toronto, and Kyle Lowry added 21 points.
— T.J. McConnell set an NBA record with nine steals in the first half and posted his second career triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists and a franchise-best 10 steals, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 114-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. McConnell also went 8 of 8 from the field in 36 minutes off the bench as Indiana rallied from a 19-point deficit in the third quarter and snapped Cleveland’s four-game winning streak. Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points for the Pacers, who snapped a four-game skid.
— Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 13 rebounds with European sidekick Luka Doncic sidelined by a back issue going into his second All-Star appearance, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 87-78. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points, Josh Richardson added 16 and Dallas cruised most of the second half without the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer. Doncic had averaged 31.6 points in the previous nine games, with Dallas winning seven to get above .500 for the first time since Jan. 22. The Mavericks kept that roll going, winning for the 10th time in 13 games going into the All-Star break.
— Terry Rozier scored 31 points and Gordon Hayward added 23 as the Charlotte Hornets headed into the All-Star break with a 135-102 win over the skidding Minnesota Timberwolves. Rozier hit three 3-pointers in a span of 1:29, the last of which pushed the lead to 79-65. The Hornets have alternated wins and losses for the past 11 games, with Wednesday’s victory coming after a loss Monday at Portland. The Timberwolves have lost nine in a row and are 0-5 since Chris Finch replaced Ryan Saunders as coach.
— Trae Young scored 32 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with eight seconds remaining as the Atlanta Hawks rallied from 19 down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 115-112. Young had 20 points after halftime to lead the Hawks back from a 61-42 deficit at the break. They shot 9 of 13 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and 21 of 45 in the game to complete their biggest comeback of the season. Combined with Tuesday’s win in Miami, Atlanta improved to 2-0 under interim coach Nate McMillan and won consecutive games for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks.
— Zach LaVine capped a 36-point performance with a driving layup and four free throws during the final minute, and the Chicago Bulls held off a late rally to beat the mercurial New Orleans Pelicans 128-124. Coby White scored 25 for the Bulls, who led by as many as 19 and were still up 18 in the fourth quarter. The Pelicans’ late surge pulled them as close as 117-113 on Jaxson Hayes alley-oop dunk as he was fouled with 1:49 left. Hayes missed the free throw, however, and Zion Williamson, who scored 28 points, missed two free throws with a chance to cut it to two with 1:23 left.
